SOULtale
by SugarCloud15
Summary: "'Why are we still here' 'Why didn't you let us go' 'We just want to be free.' These phrases were soaring through her head. She couldn't hear herself think." After being freed from the underground, monsters turn human, and Frisk absorbs the original human SOULs. Great trouble follows. (female Frisk)
1. Transformation

Frisk was holding hands with Toriel and Sans. She stared up at the path on the other side. It was where the barrier had once stood. Frisk saw a little ripple in the air, but disregarded it. She was too happy from freeing the monsters to she couldn't focus on anything else. Sans squeezed her hand gently, signalling for her to walk forward. She looked back at Asriel standing shyly next to his father, still a bit dishevelled from meeting his mother and father again.

Frisk was the first through the cave opening. The monster slowly followed her. As soon the monsters walked through, they cried out and fell to the floor in pain. Frisk whipped round at the sound of her friends, and when she saw them, they didn't look like themselves.

Souls were hanging out of their chests, but they weren't the monster white. They were brightly coloured and glowing. Fur fell and skin formed over bones. Frisk nearly screamed at the sight, until they stopped struggling in pain.

Toriel's soul turned green, Sans' cyan, Papyrus' orange, Undyne's yellow, Alphys' purple, Asgore's blue and Asriel's green like his mother's.

They were all human.

"Frisk?" It was Toriel's voice, but it didn't look like her. Sure, she had the same clothes, but she was not the same person. She had slightly tanned skin and brown hair that flowed down to her waist. Her brown eyes were looking at the child, wide. Frisk gaped at the sight of her, but her voice was gone.

"Uh, kiddo? You okay?" Sans' voice chirped from behind her. It came from a teenage boy with pale skin and bright blue eyes. His hair was so blond it was almost white. He pulled the blue jacket on his shoulders closer around himself.

"You're…" Frisk trailed off. How could she explain to the monsters that they were human now? They had hated humans, and now they were her kind. Why had they changed and she hadn't? Why had they changed in the first place? So many questions and comments were bursting through her head.

"We're human?!" Undyne shouted. She had kept her ginger hair and her ponytail, even her eyepatch. She had tanned skin with freckles dotting her cheeks. She was still wearing her leather jacket and holding onto Alphys.

Alphys was still short and a bit pudgy, with yellow hair tied up in a bun. She had kept her glasses and lab coat. She had shining green eyes peeking out of her glasses and looking sympathetically at her girlfriend.

Papyrus was helping Asgore, Asriel and a few other monsters stand up. He had ginger-blond hair that hung over his brown eyes slightly. He still wore his red gloves, scarf and body armour. It was definitely him, as it was the same smile.

Asgore was tall and large, almost like Santa. His had a short but full golden beard to match his scruffy hair. His green eyes were wide in surprise. His wore his purple and gold royal robes over his armour. His crown toppled off his head as he stood up because his horns weren't there to hold it up.

Asriel slowly hobbled his way over to Frisk. He was taller than her, by a few feet. He wore his green and yellow jumper and a pair of grey jeans. He had dirty blond hair that was curled in tufts. His green eyes were looking around at all the monsters-turned-humans.

Frisk was still standing in shock. She looked over all her friends, who had crossed the line from the broken barrier with her. She looked at where the barrier had once stood and she finally noticed the ripple of magic in its place. She saw it shine from the light refracting off of it. She slowly walked over to it, and saw the soft colours of the original human souls. She gingerly placed her hand on it, afraid that the magic would swallow her whole.

The coloured light pushed into her hand, her body eagerly taking in the magic that was buried there. Frisk gasped in pain and shock and stumbled away from the wall of magic. The colour was gone. She looked down at her now aching hand and saw it glowing every colour of the rainbow.

She vaguely heard her friends calling for her behind her. She spun around, still staring at her hand. Her friends, that no longer looked like her friends, were all looking at her concerned. She noticed Sans moving closer, but her mind couldn't really acknowledge his presence.

So many voices that definitely weren't her's were coursing through her head.

 _'Why are we still here?'_

 _'Why didn't you let us go?'_

 _'We just want to be free.'_

These phrases were soaring through her head. She couldn't hear herself think, and she couldn't hear her friend's concerns for her. Frisk collapsed at all the overwhelming feelings. The voices slowly faded away when she fell to the floor. Her head hurt, but all she could focus on was the glow from her hand. She drew her attention away from the multi-coloured light, and dragged her eyes up to Sans who was leaning over her.

"Frisk? Kiddo? C'mon, say something." Sans gently placed his hand on her arm, shaking her slightly. Frisk raised her hands to her head, covering her ears, attempting to stop the voices and ringing echoing around her head. She screwed her eyes shut and gasped slightly.

"Frisk, c'mon buddy." Sans softly gripped one of her hands. He immediately felt drained, tired, and nearly fell asleep on her. He pulled his hand away straight away and immediately felt better.

"Sans? What's wrong with the human?" Papyrus demanded from behind them. His voice was filled with worry.

"Please, kiddo. Talk to me." Sans whispered, ignoring his brother behind him. Frisk stirred slightly and her eyes fluttered open.

"S-Sans?" Her voice was weak, and she looked up at the ex-skeleton in front of her. Sans sighed, and pulled away a little bit, but didn't let her go.

"What happened then, Frisk?" He wondered, keeping his voice low, scared of hurting Frisk's ears. He knew that sometimes she could have a sensory overload sometimes, and guessed now wouldn't be the best time for it to happen.

"Voices." Frisk mumbled quietly.

"Voices? What do you mean?"

"In my head. They were scared. Angry."

"Kid, do you know who the voices are from?" Frisk looked up at where the barrier had once stood. She raised a hand up to it, pointing at the small glimmer of magic that was still there.

"The human souls. Trapped in magic. Now in my head."

"Kid, what do you think this means?"

Frisk shook her head. She had no idea.


	2. Voices

Frisk struggled to walk home. The voices, the SOULs, were all whispering for her to set them free. She couldn't figure out how to though. She was stumbling home from school, showing Asriel around their new world above ground, when she bumped into a few monsters. She recognised them easily, even if they were in a human form.

It was Scarf Mouse and Nacarat Jester, along with Faun and Gift Bear. Scarf Mouse was still very short, while the other three were about medium height. Frisk smiled at the monster-turned-humans sweetly, greeting them politely.

" _Steal their magic._ " The voice rang loud and clear in Frisk's head. The tone made the human stumble, holding a hand to her head and grimacing.

"Frisk? Are you okay?" Scarf Mouse asked, her grey hair bouncing in front of her eyes. She brushed it away again, but it still fell back in front.

"Yeah. Just a headache. I'm going to go to the Skelebros' house. See ya, guys!" Frisk waved and walked away quickly. She pulled her hood over her head, trying to hide as much as possible. The voices in her head were now screaming for her to steal magic.

But she refused.

Sans was waiting for Frisk when she walked in through the door. Even though skeletons don't feel temperature, they had turned the heating on for Frisk. They knew the cold affected her, and especially in the winter as it was. Sans was sitting in the window seat, relaxed as he watched the snow falling outside, lips turning up in a smirk. He turned when he heard the door open.

"Ugh, shut up!" Frisk shouted. Sans' face fell when he saw with her hands clamped over her ears. She fell to her knees and screamed. Tears fell down her cheeks, and her eyes were screwed shut.

"Kid?" Sans hurried over to her, trying to pry her hands away from her ears so she could hear him. She kept shaking her head.

"The voices. The voices!" Frisk screamed even louder. Sans gripped Frisk's hand in an attempt of comfort. He felt an immediate wave of fatigue, but he held on. He watched as his hands slowly lost the skin wrapped around his bones. He pulled his hands away from her's, letting them turn normal again. He was no longer tired, but turned to Frisk again.

"Kid? The voices won't hurt you. Whatever they are saying, they're wrong. Please Frisk." Sans pleaded. "It's just you and me."

Frisk finally opened her eyes with tears still falling down her cheeks. She was still breathing heavy, and she still had her hands clasped over her ears. She moved them away slowly, and looked up at Sans. The voices were now nothing but an angry mumble at the back of her mind.

"S-Sans?" Frisk's voice was shaking with her panting and tears.

"Yeah?" Sans replied, moving closer to the kid until she moved away. Taking it as a sign that Frisk didn't want to be too close to him, he stopped moving, and instead he was moving his hand closer. He saw her flinch, and pulled his hand back to himself.

"What are we gonna do? These voices. They are the human SOULs the monsters collected." The voices rose louder in Frisk head again, but she ignored them. "They are corrupted."

"How? Why are they corrupted?"

"They were supposed to move on after the barrier. They are stuck. Help them!" Frisk placed her hands on Sans' knees and pushed her face close to his.

"Woah, kid, slow down and calm down. What are they telling you to do?"

"Steal monster magic…"

"How would you do that?"

"Whenever I hold monster's hand, it drains their magic. I gain their power." Frisk wiped a few more tears that had fallen from her eyes. She couldn't cry. Not when Sans needed to know that she was okay and needed to know answers for her condition.

"Oh, my god. Frisk." Sans pulled the human into a hug, ignoring her cry of protest, but she settled in his arms and pulled herself close to him nevertheless. "You're okay. The voices won't hurt you. And you're too sweet to hurt anyone else."

"Thanks." Frisk pulled her head up slightly, looking into Sans' eyes. She trailed her eyes over his lips and dragged her finger over the pink flesh. She pushed herself to his lips, connecting them with her's. Sans raised one hand to her cheek and kept the other on her back. Frisk brought her hands to his hair, running them through the blond mop.

The kiss lasted for what felt like hours, but was really just a minute. They pulled away from each other and stared lovingly into each other's eyes. Sans picked Frisk up and carried her to his bedroom upstairs. They giggled the whole way and collapsed on the bed together. They laughed even more.

Sans pulled Frisk close for a kiss again. The human smiled and pulled herself close to his chest. They lay there in peace. At least until Papyrus came bursting in through the door. The loud noise of the door made the sleeping couple jolt in the bed.

"Sans! Where are you?!" Papyrus demanded. Sans grabbed Frisk's hand and teleported the two of them to the sofa.

"Right here, Paps." Sans quipped. Papyrus shouted in frustration, while Frisk giggled, pulled closer to Sans. Papyrus noticed the pair's closeness.

"Are you two? Together?!" He yelled. Frisk blushed and buried her face into her boyfriend's jacket. Sans smiled at her, rubbing her back gently.

"Yeah, we are." Sans said, kissing Frisk's forehead and laughing as her red cheeks grew darker. Papyrus gasped happily.

"This is amazing! We have to make a big announcement to all our friends!" He cheered.

"I think we're okay Papyrus." Frisk mumbled, looking up at the younger Skelebro through her brown hair.

"Oh, that's okay. You can tell them how you want. And human!"

"Yeah?"

"I told you I'd get you second best." Papyrus looked at her coyly and winked at her. Frisk blushed even more.

"Bro, if you keep embarrassing her, her cheeks will burst from the blood build up." Sans raked a hand through his scraggy blond hair.

"Okay." Papyrus walked into the kitchen, ready to make another meal of pasta for dinner.

Sans shared a kiss with his girlfriend again, smiling at her surprised squeal.

 **A/N Changed the ending but I'm much happier with this one. Please review, favourite and follow me and the story. And remember!**

 **Stay Sweet! and stay DETERMINED!**


	3. Comforts

Frisk was in a lecture at her school. It was about the proper way to talk at a meeting. She hated her politics class. It was only her and a few other humans who were trying to get into politics. The voices rose, she blacked out, and fell to the floor. She was rushed to hospital and kept under a keen eye for a few days. A few monsters that were nurses there had made the unfortunate mistake of holding her hand, feeling drained and powerless.

The next time the voices shouted she was on a date with Sans at Grillby's. They were protesting one of the things they were talking about, and tried to convince Frisk to steal Sans' power. She had a panic attack. Sans had been with Frisk a few times while she was panicking, and knew how to calm her down.

The next time, Frisk had taken to wearing gloves all the time, apart from when she was asleep. The only time there was an exception was when she was having a sleepover with the Skelebros. Then she kept her gloves on. It was the best she could do. The voices shouted while she was asleep, waking her up. She hid in the bathroom for a while, but Sans had felt her wake up. He checked the bathroom to make sure she was okay. She opened the door and flung herself into his embrace.

The next time, she decided she shouldn't leave the house. She stayed inside, lying in bed doing nothing for most of the day. When she fell asleep, she would talk to the voices, the souls. She heard the voices shout. She ran downstairs and into the kitchen. Toriel and Asgore were asleep in their room. The kitchen had to have something sharp.

The knives.

She grabbed one tightly and held it over her wrist. The voices screamed at her to stop, and played images in her head of her family. After Frisk was dead. They would all be devastated, all the monsters, but Sans would be broken. He would lock himself away, refusing to talk to anyone. Papyrus would have to take care of him even more than usual. Eventually, Sans would kill himself.

Frisk cried out, and stabbed the knife into a chopping board left from Toriel's cooking that morning. She collapsed onto the floor, curled up and crying.

"My child?" Toriel's vice came from the door. Frisk looked up at her, and ran into her embrace.

"I need help, mummy." Frisk had turned into a young child again. The same scared child that had fallen into the Underground, befriended every monster inside, and freed them. She had been trying to be strong for years, determined, but now, she couldn't do it. She wanted to be a child again, with no responsibilities. Now, she was ambassador to an entire race. She couldn't take anymore.

"Of course, Frisk. You can sleep with me tonight, if you wish." Toriel suggested. Frisk nodded her head and her mother picked her up into her arms. Toriel was still very tall and strong, while Frisk was still quite short and light. They moved into Toriel's room, and while trying to lie in bed, they woke Asgore up.

"Child? What is wrong?" Asgore moved over in the bed to allow for more room.

"I had a nightmare." Frisk mumbled. Asgore frowned sadly and pulled her into his arms. The human snuggled closer to her parents and sighed. Why did those voices ruin everything? She was content with her life. She didn't need the voices to damage her life any more. She freed an entire race from imprisonment. She was a hero, the angel of the underground.

"Is Frisk okay?" A teenage voice came from the door. Asriel stood there, wiping his eyes clear of sleep dust, his body adorned with childish pyjamas.

"Yes, she just had a nightmare." Toriel said. Asriel moved to the bed, climbed over his mother to lie next to Frisk. They all cuddled her closely, comforting Frisk a lot.

"It's okay, my child. We love you very much." Toriel wrapped her arms around the not-so-child child, hugging her deeply. "Nightmares aren't real."

"Nightmare's aren't…real…" Frisk repeated, drifting off to sleep.

Frisk was painting. It was one of the things she found that comforted her with the voices in her head. Whenever they got loud, she would find a comfort. They would be painting, reading, writing, snuggling close to Sans, and other odd things.

Right now, she was sitting in a studio her parents had built for her that she used for her comforts. She was sitting at the easel, dragging the brush along the canvas in bright colours. The voices were quiet now, but Frisk was determined to finish this one. She was also waiting for Sans to pick her up for their date and was using this to pass the time.

The voices rose again slightly, telling her Sans wasn't coming. She felt tears prick at her eyes, and dragged the brush roughly along the canvas; a giant brown line covering the golden flower she was painting.

She blinked away her tears and saw what she had done to her painting. A thick brown line of paint obscured the whole thing. She gasped and pulled the painting off the easel. She nearly broke down crying, until she heard the sound of her boyfriend's voice.

"Frisky, where are you~?" He drawled, a teasing sing-song tone to his voice. He didn't need to ask. He knew where she'd be. She was always in her studio now. Sans was skipping there, excited for the date he had planned. He stopped skipping when he saw her curled on the floor, ruined painting in hand, crying.

"Hey, Frisk. What happened?" Sans asked, kneeling down next to her. He placed a hand gently on her back, causing her to look up at him.

"I ruined it. Comforts didn't work." Frisk dropped the painting onto the floor, and covered her eyes with her hands. "If comforts don't work, what will?"

"Frisk." Sans muttered. He lowered one of her hands and gasped it tightly. He felt the soft fabric of her gloves under his hand. He wished to hold her hand again, but knew she wouldn't let him.

"I love you, so much. Your comforts work. This is the only time it hasn't." Sans kissed her hair gently.

"But what if it happens again?" Frisk's voice was so quiet that Sans could ignore it if he wanted. But he didn't.

"It won't. C'mon. Let's give up the date and do your favourite, and my favourite, comfort." Sans picked Frisk up from the floor and carried her bridal style to the sofa. Frisk giggled and pulled herself into Sans' lap when they sat down.

"Snuggles." She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes. She wasn't asleep, she was drifting. She could hear the rain pattering on the window, and she could hear Sans' heartbeat and breathing, but she wasn't aware of anything else. It was just her, and Sans' heart. It was perfect.

Sans sighed as she finally fell asleep. He wished, he prayed, to any God there was, or ever will be, that they will take mercy on Frisk. Spare her from her nightmares and the voices. He called forth her soul and saw the bright red glow of it fill his vision. It was beautiful. Comforting, like Sans' embrace was to her. He watched it glow for a few seconds, before seeing the dim rainbow around it. The other souls. Frisk squirmed under him and he let her soul fall back into her chest.

How was he going to help her any more than he already has? What does Frisk need? How can he help her?

How can he free her from this burden?


	4. Hiding

Frisk couldn't take anymore. She had to run. Everyone was in danger if she couldn't control the powers the souls gave her. The next night, after Sans had left and her family was asleep, she packed up her comforts. Her paints, canvases, books, laptop, everything went into a phone compartment Alphys had made for her.

She looked in her parent's room and saw them sleeping peacefully. Frisk smiled, shrugged her bag of food and water further onto her shoulder, and then walked to the front door.

"Frisk?"

She froze at the door. She sighed and turned to see her brother standing on the stairs.

"Where are you going? Are you running away?" Asriel walked down the final few stairs and stood at the bottom of them. Frisk moved closer to him, and wrapped her arms around him.

"Yes. I'm running away. But I can't tell you where." Frisk answered, pulling away from the embrace, and kissing his cheek gently. "Tell mum and dad for me, please? I love you Azzy." Frisk turned and walked out of the front door, leaving Asriel standing there in shock.

"I love you too, Frisk." He sighed, and slowly trudged his way back to his bedroom. He would explain this to his parents in the morning. For now, he would sleep.

Frisk had walked all the way back through the underground and soon found herself in Snowdin. She had considered going further to the Ruins, but she was tired and now just wanted to sleep. She kept a key for the Skelebros' house on her phone's keychain, and decided to sleep there. She walked up to Sans bedroom, unlocked the door and climbed into his bed. She sighed, and pulled the blankets over herself. She breathed in the fading scent of Sans: ketchup and grease, snow and wood.

She woke up 6 hours later according to her phone's clock. She sat up and pulled some of Sans' clothes out of his wardrobe. She hadn't gotten changed for coming here and was now very cold in her relatively thin pyjamas. She pulled out one of his white shirts, a pair of grey joggers and his signature blue jacket with ketchup stains.

Wait.

Sans kept that jumper with him above ground. Why was it here in Snowdin with her?

Frisk trudged down the stairs, rubbing sleepy from her eyes, to see Sans sitting on the sofa.

"Sans? What are you doing here?" She asked. She stayed at the bottom of the stairs, realising she left her gloves at home. Sans stood up and went to the kitchen. When he came back in, he had a steaming cup of golden flower tea. He placed it on the coffee table, then walked up to Frisk. He grabbed her shoulders and guided her to the sofa, and forced her to sit down.

"Sans?" Frisk tried again. Sans picked up the cup of tea and placed it in her hands. He then sat down next to her.

Frisk was rigid as she waited for him to talk to her. She held the cup in her hands, but they were shaking. She placed it back on the coffee table and turned to her boyfriend next to her.

"Please Sans. Just explain to me what's happening." She tried again. "Why are you here? How did you know I was here?" The ex-skeleton turned to her.

"You honestly think that when you weren't at home, and when Asriel told us that you ran away, that I wouldn't look for you?" He said. Frisk looked away, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"I hoped you wouldn't." She mumbled. She felt Sans grab her hand and immediately pulled away. She tucked her hands under her armpits.

"Why? Do you really want to leave us?"

"No."

"So why leave?"

"Because you're safer without me!" Frisk shouted. She huffed and pulled one of the sofa cushions into her lap. Sans flinched and pulled his hand away from her knee.

"You really think that?" He whispered gently, watching intently as Frisk nodded her head. "Frisk, we're sorting it out. You have the comforts, the gloves. What's happening, Frisk?"

"We are controlling the symptoms. Not the virus. The voices Sans, are driving me crazy."

"We're handling it, sweetheart. Alphys and I were finding a way to stop the voices."

"You didn't see what I saw."

"What?"

"I saw a different timeline, Sans. A bad timeline."

"What did you see?"

 _Frisk giggled as Asriel tickled her out of the doorway. They were going out shopping to buy a birthday present for Asgore. Asriel wanted to make something, but Frisk insisted on buying a present and making a card. She opened her eyes and stared out at the town. She gasped._

 _The ground was covered with piles of dust._

 _Frisk shook her head and opened her eyes again. There were people walking around, waving hello to the prince and saviour._

 _"Frisk? Are you okay?" Asriel asked from behind her. Frisk looked at him and smiled._

 _"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just felt tired for a minute."_

 _"Do you wanna have a nap?" Asriel smirked._

 _"No. I'm fine. Let's go get that present!" Frisk skipped down the road, Asriel trailing behind her._

 _While they walking to the centre of town, Frisk's vision kept flashing from people to piles of dust. She looked down at her hands in one flash and saw that they were covered in blood, dust, and one hand was holding a knife. Frisk screamed and fell to the floor._

 _"Frisk!" Asriel grabbed her arm. "Frisk! Frisk, what's wrong?!" She didn't know how to answer. That wasn't her world. Her world was now, Asriel in front of her._

 _"The voices!" Frisk covered her ears as the voices started screaming at her. Asriel picked her up and carried her home._

 _"Asriel? Frisk? I thought you two were going out?" Toriel asked as they burst through the door. Asriel carried Frisk to her studio._

 _"What do you want to do?" Asriel asked, trying to be as calm as possible to comfort the panicking human._

 _"Painting." Frisk said gently, panting. Her voice was faltering._

 _"Okay." Asriel set the easel and canvas in front of Frisk and handed her a paintbrush. He sat at the far end of the studio, waiting for Frisk to tell him she was calmer. He watched her patiently._

"Frisk? You saw a different route?" Sans asked, placing his hand on her knee and rubbing gently. Frisk nodded and wiped several tears from her cheeks.

"I didn't want to. I didn't know how. Sans." Frisk said gently. "I killed everyone once. In a different time, I killed all my friends. I just want the voices to leave."

"Okay. I have an idea." Sans stood up and flung a jumper on a hook at her. It was the one he had got her for her birthday. It was a red version of his own, looking like her soul.

"What are we doing?" Frisk asked. Sans levitated his jacket from his room and shrugged it on his shoulders.

"We're going to Alphys' lab."

"Why?"

"To get those souls and voices out of you." Sans kissed her forehead and pulled her close. Frisk knew what this meant. She screwed her eyes shut and felt the wave of magic wash over her. Sans had teleported them.

"Let's do this." Frisk said as she looked up the plain white building with 'LAB' written above the door.

"Let's do this." Sans echoed in agreement.


	5. The Lab

The lab was surprisingly cold, even with the heat of Hotlands outside. Frisk wrapped her jacket closer around herself, and Sans pulled her closer. He still didn't feel temperature that much, although he was no longer a skeleton. Sans guided Frisk to the lift in the wall, hit the down button and they started to move down.

Frisk covered her ears again as the voices rose. Sans pulled her closer and rubbed her arm gently. She slowly sank in his arms, relaxing at his touch. Frisk hummed in content.

"Best comfort." She mumbled. Sans smirked and kissed the top of her head. The lift stopped moving and the doors opened. Sans went to grab Frisk's hand, but she flinched away. She wasn't wearing any gloves.

"C'mon Frisky." He wrapped his arms around her shoulder instead and they both stepped out of the lift. Frisk's legs shook as the creepy atmosphere of the lab sent chills down her spine and goose bumps down her arms.

"I'm sure you've seen this before." Sans pointed up at a large machine. It was the Determination Extraction machine. The sight made the voices scream. Frisk clamped her hands over her ears and nearly fell to the floor.

"Okay, Frisk. Look at me." The trembling human looked up at her boyfriend. He smiled gently and guided her over to a table opposite the machine. He lifted her onto it and pulled her lips to his. He moved away and started to power up the machine.

"Alright. This should pull out any extra determination you have. If it takes too much, I think Alphys left some artificial determination down here. We can give you some of it to stop you from falling down." Sans started to plug things together and switch things on. "I'll have a look for the DT before we get started. Besides, the machine has to warm up. You stay here, 'kay?"

Frisk nodded and smiled, watching as Sans walked away. When he turned to corner into another corridor, Frisk nearly fell apart from the voices.

'Don't do this!' One shouted.

'We can help you!' Another quipped.

'You can be powerful!' The third encouraged.

'We love you. We can be useful.' The first voice pleaded.

Frisk shook her head, her eyes screwed tightly shut. She curled in on herself, lifting her legs onto the table. She looked over at the machine in front of her, and her vision flashed. She saw Flowey in his god form after absorbed the souls currently in her head. Her vision flashed again and it went back to the machine. She sighed, and wiped at the tears that had fallen down her cheeks.

Her head shot up again as she heard Sans walk back into the room. He was carrying a vile of red liquid in his hand. Frisk tried to relax but the voices were screaming at her still.

"Okay." Sans started. "We have to take a look at your soul quickly." Frisk nodded and Sans made a pulling motion. Frisk's soul sprang out of her chest and filled the True Lab with a brilliant light. It danced off every surface it could find.

"Alright. We just have to hook these onto it." Sans pulled a few sucker pieces and placed them carefully on the floating soul. Frisk shuddered at the feeling. The voices rose again, trying to bargain with the suffering human.

"You okay?" Sans asked and Frisk just smiled and nodded in response. "This won't take long. You ready?" Frisk nodded again. Sans kissed her forehead, and walked over to the switch for the machine. A final look between the couple, and Sans flipped it.

The machine whirred to life. Frisk braced herself for whatever was going to happen. A ray shot out of the machine and hit Frisk's soul. She gasped in shock but regained her composure. She tried as much as she could not to scream, but the pain and pressure was too much and she burst out in a cry. It erupted from her like lava escaping a volcano. Her breath was cast form her chest and she could no longer breathe.

Sans reached his hand up to the switch, tempted to turn it off and spare Frisk the pain, but he knew he had to do this for her. Frisk was strong, and he believed in her. Her determination was great enough to pull her through this. He found his eye glowing blue slightly, but pushed the magic down as to not interfere with the machine.

He saw the light of 6 souls stand out even more than the red of Frisk's. Sans flicked a switch that sent the souls into separate containers, the ones they had been in before Flowey had absorbed them after killing Asgore.

He killed the beam reaching out to Frisk when the souls were trapped in the containers. The dirty green tiles of the True Lab were once again dark as the lights of the room died. Frisk panted heavily as her soul floated back to her chest. The red light disappeared as Frisk absorbed her soul again. The pain and shock, the lack of determination, led her to blacking out.

She heard Sans crying for her, but she couldn't move a single bone in her body to respond. She felt fingers against her neck, and a hand clasp her's. She wanted to move away, but found she was unable to. She just couldn't be bothered.

"Frisk! You're gonna be okay. Just stay DETERMINED. For me, please?" She heard him plead. She felt a small jab in her arm and knew that Sans had injected her with spare DT. She felt him lift her into his arms and carry her bridal style out of the lab. The cold and then sudden heat shocked Frisk. She gasped and felt Sans pull her closer to his chest.

"Frisk. Just hold on." She felt the wave of magic wash over her as Sans teleported them away. She felt cold again and she realised they were back in Snowdin.

"I'm gonna take a shortcut to the Dreemurr house, okay? We'll let you relax there. I promise." The magic waved over her again, and the smell of butterscotch pie tickled her nose. "You're gonna be okay, Frisky. I love you."

 _I love you too…_


	6. Snow Day

She was lying on her bed, helpless. She could feel a thumb rub circles into the back of her hand. She was aware of everything around her, but couldn't see anything. She couldn't open her eyes. The blanket over her was soft and scratchy at the same time.

Sans looked at her with concerned eyes. He knew she was aware of him holding her hand, but he wanted the movement to show her he was here. Occasionally, he would whisper 'I love you's and words of kindness and love.

The door opened and Toriel and Asriel walked in. The woman carried a plate of butterscotch pie and the teenager was carrying a posy of golden flowers. He set them in a glass of water on Frisk's bedside table. Toriel placed the plate in front of Sans on the bed.

"'S nice, Tori. But she can't eat." Sans said, not looking away from Frisk's face.

"It isn't for Frisk." Toriel replied, matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"It's for you, Sans. You can't stay here all day and not eat. Frisk wouldn't like it, and you know that."

"I know…but…I just wanna be here when she wakes up."

"We know you do, but you have to take care of yourself."

Sans sighed, took the fork on the plate, and shoved a small bite into his mouth. It was amazing as usual, but the taste was dull, like it no longer held the same excitement of eating it. Sans forced a smile and nodded, taking another bite.

Toriel smiled, satisfied, and walked out of the room. Asriel stayed for a minute, brushing Frisk's hair. He then took Sans' empty plate, and left. Sans watched them leave before looking at Frisk again. She was pale and her cheeks were sunken in slightly. When she woke up, he would have to feed her. She looked so frail and weak. Sans had told himself he would not let her look like this and he did. His plan to help her, get rid of the voices, worked, but it took a much greater toll than he had expected and hoped.

Sans let go of her hand. He stood up and turned to the door. His hand, floating over the handle, froze when he heard a grunt and whine from behind him. He turned again, and saw Frisk's face scrunched up in discomfort. He rushed over to her and encouraged her to open her eyes.

They fluttered open, but were squinted at the light. They widened at the sight of who was in front of her. Tears fell down her cheeks and she smiled gently. Sans' face was soon covered with his own tears and it nearly split at the great smile on it. He pulled her close and they shared a deep emotion-full hug.

"Are you okay? Can you hear me?" Sans asked, pulling away. He pushed some hair out of her face, and cupped her cheeks gently. Frisk nodded in response.

"Can you talk?" He wondered. Frisk opened her mouth, but elicited nothing but a croak. Tears pricked at her eyes again and she forced her voice once more. Another croak. The tears fell down her cheeks freely once again.

"It's okay. It's okay, sweetheart. You're okay." Sans pulled her to his chest and let her tears dampen his shirt. Her silent sobs drew her breath from her chest.

Sans had found that Frisk was a very eager learner, especially when she had nothing else to do. While she couldn't walk, she was bed bound, and was determined to learn to knit. She would get frustrated, Sans would make a joke and she would throw a ball of wool at him, before trying to show him that she needed it back. He would continue to joke, making fun of her lack of speech by pretending he didn't know what she was saying, and then she would throw a book at him. He would toss the wool back, and she would continue knitting. It went like this for a few days, before Frisk started to get a little angsty.

Being stuck inside all day, all week, even as an introvert, was not fun for her. She wanted to be outside, talk to people, but she still couldn't walk, or talk. She asked Sans to get her a chair by the window so she could look outside, but it wasn't enough. She would spend most of her day either in bed, or in the window seat, reading or knitting.

During her isolation, Frisk had wanted to talk to the people around her. She had gotten many visits from every ex-monster from the mountain. They all had heard about the saviour, trapped in her home after sustaining injuries from her valiant quest to free the monsters from their prison. At least, that was how Papyrus had told them. From these visits, everyone was confused at her lack of speech. She wasn't exactly the chattiest person, but the complete silence had confused them.

After, Frisk had decided she wanted to talk. She would have to write everything down before, but while writing, it took her too long, and she'd be left out of the conversation while the other's spoke without her. She had mentioned it to Sans, and from then on, he would teach her how to use sign language. During these lessons, they would test her voice as well, and they found that it was building again, and she would be talking perfectly soon. She struggled at first with sign language, her hands slightly shaky as they usually were, but she soon gained confidence and could talk fluently in no time.

One day, Frisk was sitting at the window seat in a very cold winter. The fire place across the living room was lit, giving the house a very warm homey feel. Frisk had a blanket over her legs as she usually did, and book in her hands. Frisk looked outside and saw the peaceful fall of snowflakes. She gasped, her eyes lit with excitement.

Sans was sitting on the sofa, the other side of the room. He was also reading, while occasionally looking up at Frisk to check on her. He wore his signature jacket, but Frisk wasn't wearing her's. He lifted his head to look at her and saw her with her hands on the window, the blanket on the floor, and her mouth open in awe. He smirked and stood up.

"First winter snow." Sans whispered gently. It had started to snow heavily and the ground was soon covered with a couple of inches of the white powder. Frisk's eyes didn't leave the window.

"Pretty." Frisk whispered, her voice quite hoarse.

"How about," Sans started. "we call everyone over and we'll go out in the snow for the day?" Frisk turned to him, smiled brightly, and nodded vigorously.

"Please." She muttered. Sans placed his hand on the side of her head and pulled it close to himself, pressing his lips against the side closest to him.

They all came and Frisk was happier than she could ever be. Sans had carried her outside on his back, smiling at her the whole way. Frisk kept whispering about what they would do. They both couldn't stop smiling in their joy. Sans had wrapped her up in scarfs and jumpers and coats; his desire to protect her in her time of weakness was great.

They all went to a clearing in the middle of the woods. The pond next to it was frozen over, perfect for ice skating. Snow, 6 inches deep, crunched under footsteps. Trees, bare of leaves, loomed high over their cold forms.

Sans had carried a chair for Frisk in his magic, while Papyrus had brought blankets. Toriel had brought a foot stool for her, and Undyne had brought cushions. Everyone had made sure Frisk was warm before tending to themselves.

Frisk wasn't a big fan of all the attention they gave her. She could handle one or two people helping her, but not everyone hovering over her constantly. She was perfectly capable on her own. Yes, the machine had drawn out too much of her determination and yes, it made her nearly fall down, but she was okay, and building her strength even more every day.

Soon, Papyrus and Undyne were having a snowball fight, with Asriel and Monster Kid on Papyrus' team, and Mettaton (albeit reluctantly) and Aaron (even more reluctantly) on Undyne's team. While this was taking place, Sans, Toriel, Asgore and Alphys were ice skating. Frisk, however, was bored. No one was watching her, no one would notice.

She put her feet down on the ground and tried to push herself up from the chair. She succeeded in falling onto the snow, but they all still failed to notice. She decided to build a small snowman, in the shape of a skeleton. She sat there for a while, moulding the snow into the shape she wanted.

After Papyrus was hit in the face with a boulder of snow made by Undyne, he noticed Frisk no longer sitting in her chair. He gasped, and ran over to her, picking her up and placing her in the chair. He wrapped blankets around her legs and tugged her coat closer around her small form. He dusted some flakes of snow from her hair and then looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Why did you get out of your chair?" He asked, his voice riddled with concern, worry and slight anger. Sans had heard him speak and turned to see Frisk huddled up even more with Papyrus kneeling in front of her. He skated over to them as far as he could on the ice and then walked the rest of the way. He knelt down next to Papyrus and held Frisk's hand.

"What'd you do, kiddo?" He asked.

"I built a snowman." Frisk whispered in response. She wasn't looking at either of them in the eye, but looked past them at the pile of moulded snow behind them.

It was small, simple, but beautiful. It was a Sans and Frisk back in the underground. Sans the skeleton was wrapping a blanket around a smaller Frisk, both of them huddled under it.

Sans blushed at the sight of it. He turned to Frisk in shock, looking for confirmation that that was what she had built. Frisk blushed, bit her cheek, looked away and nodded. Sans smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She looked up at him again and he captured her lips in a kiss.

Papyrus backed away, declaring he would have a rematch with Undyne, instead, with switched teams. Alphys left Asgore and Toriel on the ice, and switched places with Asriel, telling him to join his parents. The snowball fight continued, the compact slush soaring through the air. The Dreemurr family glided on the ice, drawing complex patterns into the frost.

Sans and Frisk lay oblivious to the world around them, holding each other close in a warm embrace. It reminded Frisk of why she saved everyone in the first place. Because they deserved it, because she wanted warm family moments like this.

Because they loved her more than anyone she had ever met.

 **THE END**


End file.
